Our Class Recipe Book
Use Book Creator to make a cookbook showcasing students’ favorite foods and special memories.
Ages 8-14 / 45
min Activity
Objectives
- Discuss favorite foods and any special memories, traditions, or holidays associated with them
- Collaborate on a classroom cookbook to share recipes and stories with each other
Supporting Research
Food is more than simply nutrients - researchers have studied how food is connected to people’s identity, such as their culture, traditions, nationality, and rituals, and can evoke strong memories and feelings of nostalgia. During this activity, students will strengthen their self-awareness as they reflect on foods that are important to them and their identity, and perspective taking as they listen to others’ preferences and experiences.
To learn more about these skills, and how they promote students’ healthy growth and the development of empathy, please check out our Empathy Framework.
Materials
Activity Partners
Instructions
- Engage students in a classroom discussion around food. You might ask:
• What are some of your favorite foods? How would you describe their flavors, textures, and smells?
• Can you describe a special memory about making or eating your favorite foods? What feelings do you notice when you think about these memories?
• Have you had an experience when food helped you connect with other people? (e.g., by sharing a meal with loved ones, attending an event that celebrates food, or learning a recipe from someone else)
• Are there any foods that you eat during special occasions or holidays? What is the significance of these events for you?
- After your discussion, introduce the activity to students: working together to create a classroom cookbook! Each student should share the recipe for a food that is important or special to them, along with any photos, stories, or videos about this food.
Consider using Book Creator as a digital collaboration tool by following the instructions below.
- After finishing your class cookbook, guide students through a reflection by asking the following questions:
• How was the experience of working together to create our class cookbook? What did you enjoy about the process, and how do you feel about our finished product?
• What did you learn about your classmates from the recipes and stories that they shared?
• Are there any similarities between the foods that you and your classmates enjoy eating?
• What is a new food that you want to try preparing or eating?
Book Creator Instructions
- Sign up for a free Book Creator account (if you don’t have one already).
- Navigate to your Teacher Dashboard and add a new library for your class.
- Click on the “+New Book” button, and select the “Cookbook” template.
- Invite your students to join your library using the code provided.
- Students can create a copy of the “Cookbook” template in your library and add their own pages to their copy, including a recipe and photo of their favorite food, and/or a video of themselves making the food or describing a special memory about it. Students can upload photos and videos, record audio, add text, draw, and more directly on the platform.
- After all your students have created their pages, combine their pages together to create a class cookbook!
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